The Japanese auto industry is credited with reenergizing Detroit and American car manufacturers. That Japanese influence is also helping to create a number of culturally competent US physicians.

The Japanese Family Health Program in Michigan provides medical care to more than 6000 Japanese-speaking people—many of whom have settled in the area to work with Toyota Motor Corp and the other Japanese auto manufacturers that have set up shop in the Detroit region. The health program also gives physicians and medical students an opportunity to practice culturally sensitive medicine, an important consideration as the United States becomes more ethnically diverse.